So they added Avril for 2 years, Bennett for 1 @ $5mil, they've got Irvin and Clemons (who I'm guessing gets the axe now). Gonna be a nice stable of pass rushers there.

I wonder if we're gonna add a vet DE once the market softens even more. These deals the DEs are getting are cheap. Seattle is paying $20M for 3 years worth of pass rush. We could probably get Dumervil if he gets cut or Freeney or Abraham for a decent deal

I'd like to know where we are with cap space. I really doubt we'll be able to afford someone decent.

It depends on what the actual numbers of the Suh restructure are. If he saved us the full $7.6M that he supposedly could have, we're looking at being almost the full $7M under (including Backus retirement) and as I mentioned before we can save $1.5M cutting Mike Thomas and $1M cutting Bartell.

I get the feeling Seattle is down on Irvin. He was awful at anything other than running straight at the QB, they must not feel like he'll be ready anytime soon. This gives them good pass rushers for this year while letting Irvin develop some more and next year he can back up Avril. Well unless Avril totally stinks it up this year.

March 14th, 2013, 8:51 pm

sweetd20

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 9:03 amPosts: 2489

Re: Free Agency splash

I think they got exactly what they wanted from Irvin anything else would have been a bonus. For what he signed for they have a bargain priced sack specialist. The guy was a situational player and had eight sacks not too shabby. Now did Carroll jump the gun and get scared he might miss him in the 2nd round? I'd say yes but he got his guy and got good production out of him.

March 14th, 2013, 9:35 pm

Boz

All State

Joined: September 28th, 2011, 5:57 pmPosts: 338

Re: Free Agency splash

Did we even talk to Bennett? To pass on him at that price dosen't seem too bright!

March 14th, 2013, 9:36 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Free Agency splash

Boz wrote:

Did we even talk to Bennett? To pass on him at that price dosen't seem too bright!

I agree. Hopefully it brings down the value of Abraham and/or Freeny's contract.

March 14th, 2013, 9:39 pm

LionsAllDay

National Champion

Joined: July 3rd, 2012, 2:06 amPosts: 876

Re: Free Agency splash

Boz wrote:

Did we even talk to Bennett? To pass on him at that price dosen't seem too bright!

It makes sense. He wanted a 1 year deal to prove he's worth more than he was probably being offered long-term. Even if the Lions offered him the same or maybe even a deal worth more, Seattle barely missed the NFC Championship Game last year, the Lions got blown out by a team that lost 0-51.

Did we even talk to Bennett? To pass on him at that price dosen't seem too bright!

They have to want to listen, he went to a different Florida team first then talked with a playoff team and signed. It doesn't seem like they had a chance to pass on anything. The Lions were already visiting with 4 guys they can't bring in everyone at once. Sometimes guys just sign before you can make your case.

Did we even talk to Bennett? To pass on him at that price dosen't seem too bright!

They have to want to listen, he went to a different Florida team first then talked with a playoff team and signed. It doesn't seem like they had a chance to pass on anything. The Lions were already visiting with 4 guys they can't bring in everyone at once. Sometimes guys just sign before you can make your case.

SHHHH. That makes too much sense. It is easier to just believe that Mayhew is an idiot.

March 14th, 2013, 10:20 pm

Killwill25

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: March 5th, 2009, 8:42 pmPosts: 2411Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: Free Agency splash

5 million for 1 year of Michael Bennett....phuck that.

_________________Just one Super Bowl win before I go!

March 14th, 2013, 10:52 pm

Mufasa

Red Shirt Freshman

Joined: January 11th, 2006, 4:04 pmPosts: 460

Re: Free Agency splash

rao wrote:

I get the feeling Seattle is down on Irvin. He was awful at anything other than running straight at the QB, they must not feel like he'll be ready anytime soon. This gives them good pass rushers for this year while letting Irvin develop some more and next year he can back up Avril. Well unless Avril totally stinks it up this year.

Avril will be Seattle's Defensive version of Matt Flynn this year.

_________________The REAL "Lion King" and father to Simba

March 15th, 2013, 1:50 am

thelomasbrowns

Player of the Year - Defense

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2824

Re: Free Agency splash

Mufasa wrote:

rao wrote:

I get the feeling Seattle is down on Irvin. He was awful at anything other than running straight at the QB, they must not feel like he'll be ready anytime soon. This gives them good pass rushers for this year while letting Irvin develop some more and next year he can back up Avril. Well unless Avril totally stinks it up this year.

Avril will be Seattle's Defensive version of Matt Flynn this year.

Or Turk McBride. Look at how well he did after rejuvenating his career here. Avril's going to go back to like 5 sacks a year.

_________________"Good teams don't worry about a whole lot of stuff. They travel, they play, they win. And it doesn't matter where they go, what the time block is, all those kinds of things. They never seem to bother teams that play well, and we want to be one of those teams." -Jim Caldwell

Talks on a new contract for Matthew Stafford never really got off the ground, but that didn’t stop the Detroit Lions from filling two of their biggest needs with a pair of the most prominent free agents at their positions.

The Lions wedged running back Reggie Bush and safety Glover Quin into a tight budget, re-signed cornerback Chris Houston and added defensive end Jason Jones, thanks to some first-year cap-friendly contracts, a depressed market and more than $10 million in reclaimed cap room.

First, on Stafford, Lions president Tom Lewand said Thursday he still hopes to get the quarterback signed to a new, long-term deal.

The Lions met with Stafford’s agent, Tom Condon, last month at the NFL combine but made little progress on a deal that would lower Stafford’s $20.8-million cap figure yet make him one of highest-paid players in the game.

Stafford has two years left on his rookie deal.

“I haven’t changed my position on that in the last few weeks,” Lewand said. “Obviously, we think Matthew Stafford is the guy who can be our quarterback for a long time, and we want to have some discussions with him about his contract, in accordance with that desire to keep him for a long time. If that works out, that’s great. But we know he’s here for at least the next two years, so we’ll keep working on that as well.”

With a new deal for Stafford on the backburner for now, the Lions freed up $7.68 million by restructuring Ndamukong Suh’s contract for the second straight year and got another $2.75 million in savings when Jeff Backus retired Thursday.

Suh converted all but $630,000 of his $12.15-million base salary into a signing bonus, which can be spread over multiple seasons for cap purposes. He now has a hefty cap figure of $21.4 million for 2014, a number bigger than Stafford’s ($19.3 million) and one so large, it will make franchising Suh impossible if he wants to test free agency when his deal expires in two years.

Bush counts just $2 million against the cap this year, Quin $2.05 million, Houston $2.3 million, and Jones about $1.8 million. (All four players get $1-million base salaries this season, and their cap number includes a prorated portion of their signing bonuses.)

Lewand said structuring the contracts as such was important for the Lions, who currently have less than $5 million in cap room and several more holes to fill.

“When you’re talking about player acquisition, you want to try and utilize limited resources in the best way possible,” Lewand said. “Everybody has limited resources. The salary cap dictates that. So to the extent that you can be smart in how you spend those dollars, you will, obviously, give yourself a greater chance for success in acquisition and on the field. But that takes a team effort. It takes the coaching staff, the personnel department, the salary cap folks all working together to make sure that the decisions you make are wise, not just from a cap standpoint, but from a personnel standpoint.

“It really is something that doesn’t take place in a vacuum. And if it does, I think you’re in trouble.”

I'm kinda glad they weren't able to rework Staffs contract to this point, imagine what the Lions might have done contract wise in FA if they had another 10M to spend. I think they were able to target positions of need and keep the contracts reasonable given what they had to shop with.

Did we even talk to Bennett? To pass on him at that price dosen't seem too bright!

They have to want to listen, he went to a different Florida team first then talked with a playoff team and signed. It doesn't seem like they had a chance to pass on anything. The Lions were already visiting with 4 guys they can't bring in everyone at once. Sometimes guys just sign before you can make your case.

SHHHH. That makes too much sense. It is easier to just believe that Mayhew is an idiot.

Mayhew is an idiot. That much is indisputable. You don't lose your entire DL and OL as complete units in one offseason and not be considered an idiot.

March 15th, 2013, 12:48 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Free Agency splash

Pablo wrote:

I'm kinda glad they weren't able to rework Staffs contract to this point, imagine what the Lions might have done contract wise in FA if they had another 10M to spend. I think they were able to target positions of need and keep the contracts reasonable given what they had to shop with.

I agree... IMO we've already killed our chances of being good next year. Mayhew would have just further cash strapped this team and signed more FAs to try to keep his job. No thanks! Get that bum outta here.